


every time you smile

by klanced



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Keith Knew First, Keith angst, M/M, PINING KEITH, Slow Build, Team as Family, WHERE IS THE PINING KEITH I DESERVE, lots of team bonding in general i don't like klance fics where everyone else gets pushed to the side, oblivious lance, pidge uses she/they pronouns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 19:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7727674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klanced/pseuds/klanced
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith's life was already pretty unnecessarily complicated. And then he decided to fall for Lance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	every time you smile

“Next level.”

The gladiator dropped from the ceiling, landing in a crouched position. It slowly rose, blue gaze focused solely on Keith, and Keith eyed it warily as he shifted into position. This was a new level, unknown territory, and he didn't know what to expect. For a moment the two figures watched each other, the head of the training bot tilting in a way that was uncomfortably human. 

"Begin."

The robot rushed at him, and Keith threw himself into a tuck and roll to the side. The end of a humming sword slammed into the ground he had been only half a second earlier, and Keith inwardly cursed at himself. He'd been training for hours already, and it was showing in his slowed reaction time.

 

His momentum carried him to his feet, and Keith rushed to put more distance between himself and his opponent. Keith studied the robot but, aside from an almost lazy twirl of its sword, it betrayed nothing. This was the only thing Keith hated about training in the Castle. In a real fight, Keith could read the physical cues of his enemies and prepare himself for the fight in advance. But against an unfeeling robot, Keith was almost fighting blind. 

Keith hated the unexpected. 

As if on cue, the robot launched itself forward and came at Keith with a barrage of attacks. Keith fell into autopilot, mind three steps ahead of his body. He swung his sword again and again; attack, defend, block.

_‘Duck, block, parry. Look for an opening. Dodge to keep your head. Repeat.’_

The robot overbalanced slightly on its next swing, and Keith didn't hesitate to press his advantage. He moved in, ready to stab the robot through the chest, when he realized that the robot was barely trying to counter. Instead it coolly gazed down at him, and even without a face it seemed to smirk. The robot hadn’t ‘stumbled’; instead it had positioned itself lower to the floor. 

_‘Oh, shit-’_ Keith thought just as the robot swept his legs out from under him.

He hit the ground, hard. As he gasped for breath, the robot gently tapped him on the chest with its blade, the universal signal to yield.

“I concede,” Keith wheezed out. In response, the robot straightened up before disappearing in a show of light. Altean technology was so weird. 

Keith allowed himself to rest on the ground for a moment longer before he pushed himself to his feet. He hobbled over to the bench and gingerly lowered himself down, ribs twinging a little. Damn. He'd overdone it again, and tomorrow he was going to be a big walking bruise. Taking a swing of water, Keith swished it around in his mouth before swallowing, wincing a little at the slight irony tang of blood. Cautiously, he poked his teeth with his tongue and was relieved when none wiggled. Losing teeth in the middle of a war would be some pretty awful timing; Keith sincerely doubted there was a space dentist around. 

Keith took another sip of water and contemplated where he had gone wrong in his sparring match. A voice that sounded suspiciously like Shiro’s scolded him for being too impulsive in the fight. “Just because you have an opening doesn't mean you have to take it,” Keith muttered to himself as he rolled the water bottle between his palms. That was something Coran had told him after his fight with Zarkon, once everyone had been reunited. 

The sound of someone sarcastically clapping yanked Keith out of his thoughts. He half-turned in his seat to see Lance leaning in the doorway, arms crossed and annoying smirk in place. When he saw he had Keith’s attention, the taller boy straightened and sauntered into the room. 

“What's up, Keithy boyyy?”

“Don't call me that.”

 _‘Here we go again,’_ Keith bitterly thought, patting his sweaty face with a towel to buy himself more time. He and Lance were in a weird place right now. Even Keith, who only understood another person when he was fighting them, knew that. They weren't enemies anymore, but they certainly weren't friends. Lately, their conversations had either ended well or with the two of them stomping away in opposite directions. It was exhausting, confusing, and Keith just wanted it to _stop._

That's why he kept striking up conversation with Lance; eventually, _eventually_ , the timing would be right, and they could finally be friends. At least, that's what Keith hoped. 

Lance’s face suddenly entered Keith’s vision, way too close for comfort. Keith instinctively leaned away, nose wrinkled. “Helloooo? Space castle to Keith, wake up.”

Rolling his eyes, Keith vaulted to his feet, forcing Lance to give him room. “I can hear you just fine, Lance.” Keith called over his shoulder as he walked to put his towel in the dirty clothes hamper. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted some peace and quiet?”

Like a bad penny, Lance followed him. “You? Peace and quiet? Don’t make me laugh. You wouldn't know downtime if it bit you on the ass.”

Back to Lance, Keith closed his eyes. So it was going to be one of ‘those’ conversations. Typical. More than a little sardonically, Keith wondered what the hell Lance’s problem was.

Opening his eyes, Keith exhaled and turned towards the other boy. “What do you want from me, Lance?”

Lance blinked, obviously having expected Keith to rise to the bait. “Uh,” he scratched his neck, “I was bored? And I wanted to come train ‘cause, you know me. Working hard or hardly working.”

“Pretty sure you're the latter,” Keith said, unable to help the jab. 

To his surprise, Lance only rolled his eyes. “That was pretty weak, dude. If you're gonna come at me with something, at least make it good.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I'm done here, by the way.”

“Uh… Okay, Morgan Freeman. No need to narrate your life’s story.”

Keith looked at him weirdly, and briefly worried that Lance had somehow hit his head. “I’m telling you I'm leaving, so you know you have the room free. You said you were going to train, right?”

To his surprise, Lance suddenly blushed. Keith blinked.

“R-right!” Lance said in a rush, coughing into his first. “Yep! Training! Love training, it's so much fun. Sweat is great!” His voice cracked on the last word. 

“Uh… Okay.” Keith edged towards the door, eyeing Lance warily. “I'm gonna go now. Enjoy your sweat.”

“Thanks!”

Keith quickly walked out the door, but before it closed Keith could have sworn he heard Lance groan, “Why did I say _thanks?_ ”

\------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day was the space equivalent of Wednesday (“Space Wednesday,” as Hunk liked to call it) which meant group training, no lions allowed. Keith liked his teammates, but after living in the desert for a year (and having a lonely childhood before that), he was used to being and operating on his own. Which explained his tendency to splinter off during missions. Hey, old habits die hard. It was sometimes hard for him to remember that technically, someone had his back now. Even Lance could be counted on in a fight.

So that meant lots and lots of group training. But with each week that passed (they did these sessions twice a week) Keith noticed that the team was slowly starting to gel together. For better or for worse, they were all learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and they were slowly starting to cover for each other during training. Coran and Allura seemed especially pleased with their progress, and often introduced new training regimen to ‘spice things up’, a phrase which Keith privately translated into ‘kiss your energy and will to continue goodbye.’ 

Today was one of those days, as it turned out. The five paladins were lined up in the center of the training room, all in uniform and varying in levels of excitement. Shiro seemed politely interested in whatever he and Coran were talking about; Lance and Hunk kept nudging each other and snickered about something too quietly for Keith to hear. It was still annoying, though. Keith felt a tug on one of his crossed arms, and he looked down to see Pidge staring up at him. Keith cocked an eyebrow; Pidge’s eyes flashed over to where Hunk and Lance were being annoying, and then they rolled their eyes. Keith smirked in commiseration and Pidge stuck their tongue at him. Keith wrinkled his nose, and Pidge opened up their mouth in retaliation- right as Allura clapped her hands.

As one, the Paladins jumped and then straightened up, conversation dying immediately. Allura and Coran stood in front of them, both looking excited about something. Keith immediately became wary, memories of a certain food fight floating to the front of his mind. From the way Pidge shifted next to him, Keith wasn’t the only Paladin feeling cautious. 

“Today's exercise is a new one Shiro and I whipped up!” Coran announced, reaching up to tweak his mustache. “You’ll all need to put on your acting caps for this one, it’s a bit of a doozy.”

“Oh, Quiznak,” Lance whispered to Keith’s left, head hanging like he was praying. He probably was; the Altean idea of a ‘doozy’ usually seemed to translate into ‘a gruelling training session that left Hunk crying and Pidge stuck in the ceiling.’

“I still don’t think you’re using that word correctly,” Keith muttered out of the corner of his mouth, and Lance made a face at him.

Coran poked around at a raised dais in the center of the training room, continuing to explain. “The Princess and I have noticed that a lot of our missions have a tendency to go, uh… ‘South’ before you all manage to save the day. So, we decided to practice for the inevitable!”

Pidge raised their hand like they were all still students in the Garrison. Coran nodded at them, bouncing a little in place. “So you’re saying this is like… Preparing for Operation SNAFU?” Pidge asked, eyes sparkling in a way that said they thought they were being clever, and Keith coughed into his fist to hide his smile.

Coran nodded enthusiastically, then switched to shaking his head, then switched back to nodding. It was clear he had no idea what ‘SNAFU’ was, and Keith coughed again. Beside him, Hunk and Lance started giggling. Shiro let out a fond sigh. “Uh… Yes?”

Hunk raised his hand and Coran warily called on him as well. Hunk leaned forward a little to see past the line of bodies to look at Pidge. “Actually, I argue this is more of ‘preparing for a FUBAR mission’ kind of thing. ‘Cause like, none of our missions are ever _normal_ to begin with, ya feel?”

Pidge tapped a finger to their chin in thought. “That’s a fair point,” they said to Hunk, “I think you’re right.”

“Guys,” Shiro said. His tone was stern but the smile he directed at them all was fond, and Hunk and Pidge blushed before falling back into line. “Okay Coran, continue.”

Coran flashed a quick thumbs up at Shiro before he started speaking again. “For today’s training session, you’re going to pretend that most of the team has been captured. It's up to you and your partner to save the day! Allura will be joining you all, and I'll be overseeing the training exercise from above.” Coran walked back to his dais and pushed a button. In an instant, the sound of electricity crackled through the air, causing Lance to jump. After another pause, walls slowly started to fade into view, until eventually they were surrounded by crystalline structures that stood a good two feet taller than Shiro. Keith instantly felt trapped, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably.

“Now, here’s how it works: you will all be paired off. Two people enter the invisible maze, which I’ve modified to be visible, and you’ll have to work your way through to get to the center where your teammates are held. There are obstacles, of course. You will have to fight off multiple droids; they’ll start off at an easy-level, for you all at least, but will become harder the farther you progress.”

“Uh… How many times are you allowed to be hit?” Hunk asked nervously, poking at a nearby wall. He yelped when it gave him a mild shock and stuck his hurt finger in his mouth. Lance sympathetically patted his best friend on the shoulder.

“You’ll be allowed three hits, because this is your first try at this exercise. But remember: In a real battle, you have to assume that even one hit will be fatal to you or your teammate!” Whistling a cheerful tune, Coran finished plugging in one final command to his control panel. Behind his back, the Paladins shared mildly alarmed and sickened looks at the bleak picture Coran painted.

“Annnnnnnnnnd that should do it!” Next to the paladins, the maze shuddered before the walls split to reveal a passage. “I’m going to split you all into pairs now! Four of you will stay here where you’ll wait to be ‘rescued.’ The partnered pair will exit over there and wait until I give the signal to re enter the maze!”

“Do we get to choose our partners?” Lance said, hand rocketing up. He slung his other arm around Hunk, who joined his best friend in an impromptu side-hug. They looked ridiculous.

Keith nudged Pidge, who looked up to him with an eyebrow quirked. “Arm Solidarity,” Keith solemnly said and Pidge’s face lit up. They shared a fist bump, just as Allura gave a polite cough.

“Ah, I’m sorry Paladins, but Coran and I chose the partners in advance.”

In a flash, there was a Lance-shaped hole next to Hunk, and the yellow paladin almost fell over before Keith and Shiro caught him. Lance popped up next to Allura, eyebrows wiggling. Keith, Pidge, and Hunk all groaned in unison, Pidge going so far as to make fake barfing noises.

“Why Princess,” Lance purred, and Allura rolled her eyes, “I had no idea you wanted to pair up with me so badly!”

“Actually,” Allura said, smile widening into a wide grin that Pidge had nicknamed Allura’s ‘About to Blow Us All Up’ face. Lance instinctively leaned away as the princess shifted her stance and put her fists on her hips. “Lance, you’re with Keith!”

_“What?”_

_“What?”_

Lance glared at Keith. “I yelled it first,” he huffed, crossing his arms. Keith rolled his eyes, and the two fell into an angry staring contest as Coran divided the rest of the team up into Team 1 (Shiro and Allura) and Team 2 (Pidge and Hunk).

“As Team 3,” Coran announced to Keith and Lance, “you two will be going last. So make yourselves comfortable! Shiro and Allura, you may leave the maze. I’ll give a signal when you can begin.”

“Awesome, Coran,” Lance said flashing the orange-haired alien a thumbs-up without breaking eye-contact with Keith. The black-haired boy only slightly narrowed his eyes and return, but other than that his stare didn’t waver. Keith had no intention of losing; back in the desert, when he wasn’t looking for that strange energy or working in the nearby town, he had to come up with his own entertainment. 

Keith had once even started a staring contest with a snake. He still didn’t know how much time he wasted that day maintaining eye-contact with the snake until it got bored and slithered off. It was only afterwards, when Keith was splashing precious water in his eyes, that he remembered snakes didn’t even have eye-lids.

“Hey Keith, are your eyes getting tired?” 

“The only thing they’re tired of is looking at you.”

“Hey!”

Pidge rolled their eyes and marched in between the two of them to deliver a swift and brutal elbow strike to both of their stomachs. Both boys wheezed at the pain and squeezed their eyes shut on reflex. There was a moment of silence, before Keith and Lance both groaned as they realized what Pidge had done. Next to them, Pidge and Hunk snickered together.

“Ugh, Pidge!”

“Hey, no fair! I was so close to winning! I demand a rematch, Keith cheated!”

“What the- how did I cheat?! Pidge did it to both of us, at the same time.”

“Yeah, well, I heard you both whispering about ‘Arm Solidarity’ earlier-”

“Why were you eavesdropping?”

“-So you probably planned this in advance!”

“Oh, that is such-”

Hunk cleared his throat. “Uh, guys? Are you done yet? ‘Cause it’s been like… Five minutes, and I don’t know how long it’ll take Shiro and Allura to reach us, so you might as well as sit down.”

Keith and Lance looked at Hunk and then blinked at each other, faces close. Keith could feel the warmth radiating off of Lance and he immediately ripped himself away, face feeling hot. “You’re right, Hunk. Sorry.”

“Yeah uh… Sorry guys.” Lance awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Out of the corner of his Keith, Keith noticed that he was blushing again. “Got a little caught up, that’s all.”

Pidge rolled their eyes. “ _Obviously,_ ” they said, voice heavy with sarcasm as Keith plonked himself down next to them. “You guys always do this.”

“Yeah, well, it’s _his_ fault-” Lance began indignantly until Hunk, Pidge, and Keith all turned to give him a significant look. The blue paladin immediately wilted under their combined gaze. “-Sorry, I’m doing it again.”

“Yep. But we love you anyway,” Hunk said, patting his friend on the shoulder. “... Usually.” 

“Hunk, really? You too? So not cool!”

Hunk’s joke successfully lightened up the atmosphere and Lance indignantly squawked he ungracefully threw himself at Hunk. The yellow and blue paladin both tumbled to the ground, causing Pidge and Keith to start guffawing. Keith felt tears bud at the corners of his eyes. Pidge’s face had never shone brighter as the green paladin doubled over, holding their stomachs. Hunk was literally rolling around on the floor as he laughed. In the center of it all, Lance sat cross-legged on the ground, arms folded and pout in place. 

' _This training session_ ’, Keith quietly reflected as he covered up his smile and worked to contain his amusement, _‘might not be a disaster after all.’_

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, Keith.
> 
> I'm on tumblr! klanced.tumblr.com
> 
> If you like my fic, please tell me, this is my first time posting on AO3 lol. The summary and title are subject to change, I've been writing for like three hours now and my brain is a steamed green bean.


End file.
